(The following appeared on the Great Falls Tribune website on March 13, 2011.)
GREAT FALLS, Mont. — There’s a noticeable number of longer trains rolling through central Montana, but instead of grain and manufactured goods, the 110-car-plus loads are hauling coal.
Such sightings are likely to increase.
There is an increased demand for coal imports in Pacific Rim countries such as China, India and South Korea.
Coal exports from the U.S. to Asia increased by almost 240 percent during the first nine months of 2010, compared with what was shipped during the same time in 2009.
That movement of coal from mines in Montana and Wyoming to destinations such as China currently is made through Canada.
However, that could change.
Two coal export facilities, which if built will be the first on the U.S. West Coast, have been announced for Washington state sites, one near Longview, and another near the Canadian border at Cherry Point.
The full story is on the Great Falls Tribune website.